...The film to kill a mocking bird by Horton Foote and the producer/director team of Robert Mulligan and Alan J. Pakula. Set a small Alabama town in the 1930s, the story focuses on honest, highly respected lawyer Atticus Finch,( Gregory Peck). Finch puts his career on the line when he agrees to represent Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of rape. The trial and the events surrounding it are seen through the eyes of Finch's six-year-old daughter Scout (Mary Badham). While Robinson's trial gives the film its momentum. There are plenty of occurrences before and after the court date, Scout's strengthening bond with older brother Jem (Philip Alford), her friendship with young Dill Harris (John Megna), her father's no-nonsense reactions to such life-and-death crises as a rampaging mad dog. The second most important storyline is Scout's reactions to, and relationship with, Boo Radley (Robert Duvall), the "village idiot" who turns out to be her salvation when she is attacked by Robert Ewell (James Anderson), the man who says his daughter Mayella Ewell (Collin Wilcox ) was raped by a black man who is actually innocent but still gets killed for a crime he did not commit . To Kill a Mockingbird was a great classic that won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Peck), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Art Direction and really shows throughout the film the reoccurring issues of racism, biased from social class, and stigmas to gender are tested and tried and shows how unfair the world...
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...Kim Huynh – 10 Catherine Year 10 English To Kill A Mocking Bird –Essay “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…” Discuss how Atticus posses the ability to do this, and how Scout develops this skill throughout the text. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, Scout narrates the story from her perspective as a young child. During the course of the story, Scout finds it difficult to understand different people and their motivations. Atticus, Scouts moral adviser teaches her a valuable lesson on how “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”(Ch. 3 p.33) Throughout the course of the novel, Atticus conveys his ability to do this and Scouts learns to put his advice into practice with the events of Mrs. Dubose, Mayella Ewell and Arthur Radely. Atticus is able to apply this notion to his children Scout and Jem through the events that occurred involving Mrs. Dubose. She is known in the neighborhood as the ‘meanest old woman who ever lived’ (Ch. 4, p. 39). After being verbally attacked by Mrs. Dubose on several occasions about Atticus “lawing for niggers”(Ch. 11, p. 112) Jem finally loses his temper and beheads her camellias. As a result Jem and Scout have to go read to her daily. Scout never really understood the reason for this particular type of punishment however everything came out into the light following the death of Mrs...
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...In Harper Lee’s rites-of-passage novel ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’, the theme of prejudice and injustice is portrayed in many aspects of the narrative, and suggests that out-casts and misfits of society cannot escape the callous effects of discrimination in the conventional town of Maycomb. Through the protagonist’s eyes Jean Louise Finch also known as Scout, we are shown the harsh and insensitive circumstances the victimized in Maycomb. Lee also gives us insight of hope and optimism through individuals who persevere for justice and equality. In the novel, we see Arthur (Boo) Radley constantly victimized by the prejudice of Maycomb’s society. Boo Radley is not accepted nor does he fit into society and from his unusual ways he is wronged and deceived. Boo Radley isolates himself from the people of Maycomb. If Boo chooses to go outside, he will be unfairly viewed as a visitor from abroad because of his mysterious ways. He remains in his home all day and all night because he knows that his society will ridicule him. After being isolated for so many years ‘Arthur Radley was not seen for fifteen years’, Boo is developmentally challenged and has lost his basic social skills. Boo is the object of rumours and is viewed as the town’s erratic figure. The town blames and accuses Boo for any petty crime or unexplained phenomenon. Under the influence of the adults we also see the children speculate over Boo. They describe him as a ‘malevolent phantom’ ‘six-and-a-half feet tall’ with ‘bloodstained’...
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...In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells a poignant coming-of-age story about loss of innocence in the character of Scout. Three significant events illustrate this fact. The first example portrayed in the novel occurred when Scout went to the jail to find out what Atticus was up to, only to find that a mob had arrived to lynch Tom Robinson. This event left Scout with the notion of a mob mentality. Another event was the turning point of the story, the trial of Tom Robinson; this defining moment taught Scout of prejudice and injustice. She had only a vague notion of prejudice until the trial. And finally, she experienced a real shock when Bob Ewell attempted to kill both her and Jem. This was malice in its purest form. Ultimately, these were all defining moments for Scout, and her innocence was lost as she was forced to a brutal awareness of the draconian ways of the world. The first example occurs when one evening Atticus crept out of the house. This was unusual because Atticus never went out late at night. Scout and Jem, curious about why Atticus had left incognito, followed him quietly to see what he would do. Neither was prepared for what they discovered: Atticus was guarding the jail that held Tom Robinson to protect him from the likely occurrence of a lynch mob. Well, a mob happened to come along, and they demanded entry to the jail so they could lynch Tom. Not realizing her danger, Scout fended off the mob. In the aftermath, Scout and Jem were having...
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...It’s easy for me to apply this story to my personal life as a teacher. The district that I work in is well known for its affluent personas and well to do neighborhoods. The communities that make up the district are historically middle to upper class communities with white doctor’s lawyers and a sprinkle of Hispanic Americans and other well educated people, historically. In recent years the community has been changing and I’ve noticed a different group of people moving in. It’s being diversified to say the least. Single African American mothers and fathers are now moving in and in my opinion to an extent the community wasn’t prepared for it. The school I work in is a special school for this district. It’s surrounded by homes that are not the norm, not the upper middle class that the older community is made up of. Because the cliental is changing and lots of African Americans are moving in and the community isn’t changing it created a friction in the school at times. The students of these parents which are totally different then what the community is used are constantly faced with prejudice and discrimination. The African American students are constantly judged and have to prove they are not something before they get a chance to show who they truly are. These African American boys are fighting against stereotypes and can be put through extreme circumstances. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are similar to these African American boys at my school. They are characters...
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...William Qi English Honors 12/17/12 Block C To Kill a Mockingbird Essay How does the theme of “appearance vs. reality’ play a role in this story? Have you ever heard of the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover?” Many people have, yet they still treat people unfairly without getting to know them. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author is able to use the theme of appearance vs. reality to portray many characters in the book in a relationship that can give readers two different sides of a person. For the residents of Maycomb County, Boo Radley is rumored to be a malevolent phantom that mutilates animals, stalks people at night, and runs with the rebellious crowds before he was locked up in his room. Although, the children have never seen Boo Radley, Jem speculates that “Boo was about six and a half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels… that are why his hands are bloodstained… There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time (pg 16).” This description shows how misguided they are due to the outrageous myths about Boo spread around town by adults. However, as the story moves forward, more insight on the real character of Boo is revealed through various incidents. When Jem and Scout were walking home one day, Jem finally confesses what happened to his pants that night when they tried to sneak a...
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...emotion of the event stays with them forever, and it affects them In the future. The emotion by our childhood sometimes gets in our way of making our choices. in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Helen Keller tells us a story about a five year old girl named Scout dealing with problems during her childhood and how the events that happen to her make her understand what problems that she may have in the future. The whole situation happen with Boo Radley, in Maycomb there was many rumors of horrible things he ever did and at the end there were all lies. It also happened with Tom Robinson but it was worst since he was an African American and back in 1930’s many people were racist and with one little bad situation they got in they got sent to jail. Tom and Boo are both of them both experience situations that people may believe they did and yet the still judged. Helen shows the symbol of the mockingbird with Tom and Boo Radley they don't bother anyone and yet they still judge them. When Atticus Tells Scout it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird she didn't understand why and when she asked Miss Maudie she tells her “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people’s gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”[Lee 90] Scout whatever rumor she hears she believes everything they say, but when Atticus sees what Scout believes is truth he tells her,” You never really...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird - Complexity To Kill a Mockingbird exhibits many characters and their roles in the city of Maycomb. Among the many characters, are Jem Finch, brother of Jean Louise Finch daughter of Atticus, and Arthur Radley a relative of Nathan Radley. All of the characters in the book demonstrate one-dimensional and three-dimensional tendencies but Jem and Arthur are those that provide the greatest insight to the latter. Jem Finch is a three-dimensional character with symbols of success, virtue and an adverse personality in To Kill a Mockingbird. For example, in the beginning of the book, Jem was aggravated by the then taunting Dill Harris (a young visitor to Maycomb) so that Jem would touch the house of Radley. By touching the Radley house, he proved that he was not afraid and could take on any challenge. When such predicaments come Jem's way he will usually be able to make the best of them successfully. In addition, Jem will lash out in complete contempt for a wrong against his moral conscience, such as Mrs. Dubose slinging blasphemy at Jem's father. A good character must have a sense of morality to defend what is believed to be right, and Jem has this emblematic realism. But, a life-like character must have their weaknesses; and he displayed that on account of Mrs. Dubose's harsh words. Furthermore, in chapter eleven of To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem has to repent his wrongdoing by reading to Mrs. Dubose. Jem's moral obligation takes precedence...
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...Lee, Harper—To Kill a Mockingbird 1960 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee DEDICATION for Mr. Lee and Alice in consideration of Love & Affection Lawyers, I suppose, were children once. Charles Lamb PART ONE 1 When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury. His left arm was somewhat shorter than his right; when he stood or walked, the back of his hand was at right angles to his body, his thumb parallel to his thigh. He couldn’t have cared less, so long as he could pass and punt. When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out. I said if he wanted to take a broad view of the thing, it really began with Andrew Jackson. If General Jackson hadn’t run the Creeks up the creek, Simon Finch would never have paddled up the Alabama, and where would we be if he hadn’t? We were far too old to settle an argument with a fist-fight, so we consulted Atticus. Our father said we were both right. Being Southerners, it was a source of shame to some members of the family that we had no recorded ancestors on either side of the Battle of Hastings...
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...How symbolism can help you better understand To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee uses symbolism to reveal an overall theme of human dignity. Maycomb County is a typical sleepy southern town that is blinded by the disease of racism. An innocent black man becomes a victim of the disease when he is accused of rapeing a white woman. Firstly the symbols Jem’s pants and the rolly-polly show the important theme of maturation. Furthermore the symbols Tim Johnson and the snowman highlight a theme of destroying racism. Lastly one-shot Finch and the perfect white waxy camellia symbolize true courage. Harper Lee uses Jem’s pants and the rolly-polly as symbols to convey a theme of maturation. Jem and Scout where in the Radley’s backyard trying to get a look at Boo Radley when Jem see’s a shadow the children immediately flee form the house. As the children were running through the collards as they hear the roar of a shotgun. As Jem and Scout are fleeing the scene Jem’s pants gets caught in the fence and he has to leave it in their backyard if he wants to survive. Later that night he says how he needs to go back and retrieve his pants not for him but for Atticus, “‘Atticus ain’t never whipped me ever since I can remember, and I wanta keep it that way.’” (Lee 75). He goes back to get his pants to keep his relation shit with Atticus. There is a evident theme maturation in Jem at this point, from when he thought turtles could not feel, too now when he is showing...
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...Che Bob 12/11/10 English 1b Ms. Jeffcoat The character in the book ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ that I think has the most in common with me is Jem. There are a lot of things that connect me and Jem to the same person. Some of those things are being protective over our younger sibling, taking advice from our fathers, standing up for what’s right, exploring new things, and getting a little emotional when things don’t go as planned. In some of the chapters you might have realized how Jem gave some type of hint in regards of protecting his sister. An important event that happened in chapter 30 that reflected his protections was when Bob Ewell tried to attack his sister and he pulled him off of her and then began to fight him. He and I both take care of our sister and love them. Most of the brother and sisterly love was at a younger age. So as we grew up I grew apart from my sister as well as Jem grew apart from Scout. I and Jem still love our sisters and will protect them at any cost. I talk to my father as often as Jem talks to his. We both take advice from our fathers and use in our everyday life. Most of the time when I am struggling I often seek my father for advice of just comfort. He can always tell when I am not felling well or I am just angry at something. Jem’s father has the same kind of powers if you will. In chapter 24 Jem is felling sorry for Tom Robinson and is sluggish all day. So his father test him with a football magazine. Jem flips through it a couple times...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird Final Project – Test Lance Moyes Period – 2nd 1. Why did Atticus save money? a. To buy a new car b. To put his brother through medical school c. To buy his wife a new dress d. To go on vacation 2. When summer ends, where does Dill go? e. To his uncle’s house f. To Cincinnati g. Home to Meridian h. College 3. What does Scout say to Atticus about going to school? i. That she wishes he would drive her to school every day j. That she loves school k. That she doesn’t want to get coodies l. That she doesn’t need to go to school 4. What does Miss. Maudie send home with Scout m. Flowers n. Homework o. Pound cake p. Reading Books 5. What did Jem leave when they dove under the fence? q. Scout’s tennis shoe r. A school book s. Jem’s toy airplane t. Jem’s pants 6. What do they see in the knothole tree? u. A kite v. A kick ball w. A ball of twine x. A birds nest 7. Why is Scout terrified when she wakes up on morning? y. She sees snow z. Someone is in her room {. A dog jumped on her |. A spider is on her pillow 8. Who is Atticus’ client? }. Reverend Sykes ~. Caroline Fisher . Thomas Robinson . Harper Lee 9. Who gave Scout and Jem shooting lessons with their air rifles? . Atticus . Uncle Jack . Dill . Miss Maudie 10. What does...
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...Summary The story is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout starts to explain the circumstances that led to the broken arm that her older brother, Jem, sustained many years earlier; she begins by recounting her family history. The first of her ancestors to come to America was a fur-trader and apothecary named Simon Finch, who fled England to escape religious persecution and established a successful farm on the banks of the Alabama River. The farm, called Finch’s Landing, supported the family for many years. The first Finches to make a living away from the farm were Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, who became a lawyer in the nearby town of Maycomb, and his brother, Jack Finch, who went to medical school in Boston. Their sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed to run the Landing. A successful lawyer, Atticus makes a solid living in Maycomb, a tired, poor, old town in the grips of the Great Depression. He lives with Jem and Scout on Maycomb’s main residential street. Their cook, an old black woman named Calpurnia, helps to raise the children and keep the house. Atticus’s wife died when Scout was two, so she does not remember her mother well. But Jem, four years older than Scout, has memories of their mother that sometimes make him unhappy. In the summer of 1933, when Jem is nearly ten and Scout almost six, a peculiar boy named Charles Baker Harris moves in next door. The boy, who calls himself Dill, stays for the summer...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird Summer assignment Tyler Reid When looking at the title I really thought it was meaning to kill a mockingbird. Then I was also thinking the book was about killing someone who is mocking another. • Sin- To break one of the 12 commandments. • Trash- To use Racial terms • Courage- To take pride in what you have done. • Neighbor- Someone who lives in another residential area by you. • Civilized- To make amends or peace with one another, to be friendly and together. • Gentlemen/Lady- Formal way to call a man or a girl. I think one of the most essential parts of this book was about Miss Caroline. She didn’t play as big of a role in the book but she did have a important part in it. She was Scouts first ever teacher, also she was a reality check for her as well. She is from North Alabama so everything that has happened in chapter 3 she wasn’t aware about (Cunningham Incident ) Another big thing that has happened in the book is that when Scout was about to start a fight with Cecil Jacobs. Cecil was picking on scout by saying his dad defends black people. I am surprised that Scout didn’t actually fight. One last thing about the book that got to me was the mystery pants. The pants were hanging over the fence neatly out of nowhere. After that, a grey ball was in the knot hole way after. When I read this book, I thought it was a really good book, even though I didn’t know it was going to turn out like the way it was. There’s some parts in the book...
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...Why does the Radley place fascinate Scout, Jem and Dill? The Radley house is shrouded in mystery. Boo Radley and the goings on of his family have become the stuff of ghost stories. Naturally, being children, Scout and Jem hold the house with both fascination and fear. Is Boo really a monster who dines on squirrels? Questions like this feed into the children's imaginations. What briefly has happened to Arthur Boo Radley? Boo Radley committed a boyhood prank for which his conspirators were sent to a boys' school and lived happy, productive lives. Boo's father persuaded the judge to let him take Boo home instead of sending him away. He forced Boo to live in seclusion for his entire life. Boo Radley's parents are "foot washing" Baptists who believe all pleasure is sin, as a teenager he rebels and joins a gang of misbehaving but generally harmless boys, after a night of shenanigans the boys come before the town judge who sends them to a boys reformatory that is known to be a positive experience, and the boys come home to normal lives. But Mr Radley demands he get to take Boo home where he keeps him locked away, after many years the town is completely shaken when one day Boo is cutting up a magazine and stabs his scissors into his father's leg. Boo is held in the basement of the courthouse and then returned to his father. When his Father Died, his brother took his place keeping Boo locked in the...
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